Monday, January 30, 2012

Landing a Perfect PR Internship/Job

By Staci De Leon

Since we are all seniors and are in desperate need of jobs after graduating (at least I am), here are a few tips from Kaitlin Doody's, How to land the PR internship of your dreams:

1. Know your audience
2. Build a portfolio
3. Prepare your "pitch"
4. Diversify your experience and
5. Develop a "specialty."


I find number four to be very interesting. Some people do not realize that they are experienced in more than one area. For example, I really enjoy writing press releases, but recently I have become increasingly involved with various blogs and major social media outlets. 
Just because you know how to manage your own Facebook and Twitter pages doesn't make you an expert; make sure your status updates and tweets are relevant, make an online brand for yourself. I usually blog (or reblog) about current events that interest me, not celebrity gossip, but real news happening in the real world.

According to a recent WSJ article, now-a-days hiring agencies and companies are focusing more on LinkedIn accounts, video profiles and online quizzes to pick only a handful of the best candidates from hundreds of applicants.

In order to get the job of your dreams in this industry, figure out how to reach out to them through social media. Some people may think social media isn't that great for jobs, but when you use it correctly, you're promoting your online brand to potential employers to increase your network for possible job opportunities after you graduate.

2 comments:

Deena Poncik said...

I think many companies are using social media for more than just outreach to the public. It's also being used internally like you have mentioned. Thanks for all the tips! :)

Jacklynneh said...

I'm not going to lie, I went and updated my LinkedIn profile after reading this!

Thanks for sharing.
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